HISTORY-making Modern Matron May Parsons has been honoured as an Endeavour award winner by Coventry University for her contributions to nursing.
May was part of the first cohort on the university’s Senior Leaders Master’s Degree Apprenticeship and has just completed her master’s in Global Healthcare Management.
She was given the award by the school of nursing midwifery and health at her graduation.
The Endeavour award is granted to students that go above and beyond during their studies.
In December 2020, May became the first person in the world to administer a Covid-19 vaccine to a patient outside a clinical trial at Coventry’s University Hospital.
She also received the George Cross from Queen Elizabeth II on behalf of NHS England in July and in September she was part of the late Queen’s funeral procession.
May said: “When I moved to the UK from the Philippines, I never dreamed it would be possible to meet Queen Elizabeth II and get awards like this.
“It is an honour, and I am representing the NHS workers, women, people from ethnic minority backgrounds and the people we have lost during the pandemic.
“There are a lot of people out there who do this job with the same commitments, who are more deserving, so this award is for all our NHS workers because it is the people that make the NHS.
“I am proud of myself for completing this course during the pressures of managing the COVID wards and it has helped me further my leadership skills and taught me resilience and to be more self-reflective.
“You never stop learning and you can do anything you put your mind to.”
Coventry University’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Health and Life Sciences Lisa Bayliss-Pratt added: “May’s commitment to life-long learning while saving lives through her work on the wards and the vaccination campaign epitomises the phrase going above and beyond.
“She is an inspiration to our students, and everyone associated with the nursing profession, providing a local and global perspective on how we can all work together to create better futures and deliver the best care possible to the patients, families and communities we all serve.”
